Chapter 10
In the end. I legally severed all parental ties and gained true freedom.[]
Tina found Dylan in the corner of some loud, dingy bar.
“Dylani”
She rushed over, trying to wrestle the bottle from his hands.[]
“Stop this! Look at yourself is that woman really worth destroying yourself over? Seeing you like this… it breaks my heart!“]
Dylan looked up through bleary eyes at Tina’s perfectly made–up face, full of fake concern.[]
“Breaks your heart?“||
He slurred the words, staring hard at her.
“Then tell me. Tina…..‘
He leaned in close, reeking of alcohol, each word deliberate.]
“Do you like me for my money too?“]
The question caught her off guard–a flash of panic crossed her face before she quickly covered it.
“Dylan! How can you even think that?! Of course not! I love YOU–the person! Money has nothing to do
with it!“]
She desperately tried to prove her sincerity, reaching for his hand.
But Dylan violently shoved her away.
“Really? Not about money?”
He laughed bitterly.
“Then explain this–your company lost the Lumina deal, your cash flow is about to dry up… and suddenly you’re here. Coincidence?”
He paused, watching Tina’s face go white and her eyes dart away. Everything clicked.
“Get out.”
He pointed at the door. “All of you. Get the fuck out!”
Tina finally stomped her foot in frustrated rage, grabbed her purse, and stormed out.
Dylan collapsed back on the couch, head pounding
In his haze, he drifted back to that sun drenched high school hallway.
A girl in a faded, patched uniform, wearing that careful, hopeful smile, clutching a workbook in her hands, stubbornly blocking his path as he and his crew headed out to start some fight.||
Her voice rang clear as if she were right there, awkwardly concerned
“Dylan, don’t go fighting…“]
How had he responded back then?
He’d shoved her aside impatiently, called her a busybody, mocked her as a “bookworm,” “broke loser,” “pathetic lapdog,” then strutted off while his friends laughed…..
The truth was, way back when he’d first started school, he’d thought she was… special]]
Savannah was always dominated every academic ranking without fail, the teachers‘ golden child–but her poverty and patched clothes made her a target for certain classmates.
He was the golden boy, center of everyone’s universe.
He’d liked Savannah.
But he’d also cared what people thought, afraid of being mocked for “actually liking that broke nerd“]
That secret affection–something he’d never even admitted to himself–had finally twisted into the same bullying and contempt as everyone else, only worse.
He’d actually believed that no matter how badly he behaved, how much he trampled on her feelings, she’d always be there waiting if he just crooked his finger…
Dylan laughed, then started crying.
He really wasn’t worth my feelings.
And 1. Savannah Lane, had long since left that whole family drama in the rearview mirror.[]
Under my leadership, Lumina’s North America operations were crushing it.
My design philosophy was unique and vibrant, quickly winning over the luxury market.
Success after success at fashion shows, one stellar sales report after another–all solidifying my position and reputation]
I knew that only by climbing high enough could you achieve absolute freedom.]
The old Savannah had traded three years of endurance for a ticket out of hell.||
to her.[]
And the new Savannah was using talent and hard work to pursue her dreams in this vast world that finally belonged to
